Federer keeps his cool

The world No1 survives an early scare before moving into top gear to sweep past the 6ft 9in American John Isner

To be flustered when encountered by the unusual is not an option to the master of calm that is Roger Federer. So the defending champion simply took stock of what the most spoken about new talent in tennis could throw at him, weathered an initial squall that had all the potential of developing into a storm and strode on masterfully in his pursuit of a fourth consecutive US Open title.

Everywhere John Isner goes around Flushing Meadows, the 6ft 9in debutant finds people staring at his towering stature in wonderment of what it might actually do to the sport of tennis. Each time he walks out to play, most opponents treat him with suspicion in the knowledge that he could quite simply serve them off the court.

However, Federer has long been a man who does not comply with the common point of view and, realising that only his best